Witch's Maw
Etymology Castle unnamed by characters. "Witch's Maw" appears only in the manga and anime scene titles.Claymore 8, Scene 41, p. 38; Claymore, Anime Scene 15 Metaphoric title is extended to the castle by implication. "Witch's Maw" actually refers to the situation of being trapped inside the castle, rather than the physical castle itself.Claymore 8, Scene 41, p. 38; Claymore, Anime Scene 15 Description Abandoned castle in Zakol Mountains in western region of Lautrec. See world map for approximate location. Headquarters of Riful of the West.Claymore 8, Scene 42, p. 81; Claymore, Anime Scene 15 History 'Hamel' In town of Hamel, Clare searches for Raki. She checks in at local inn. From up in her room, she watches the Zakol hunt leaving town.Claymore 8, Scene 41, pp. 46–50; Claymore, Anime Scene 15 Despite Clare's suppressant, Jean detects Clare's presence. But Jean shrugs it off as her imagination.Claymore 8, Scene 41, p. 51; Claymore, Anime Scene 15 'Castle' In the anime, the hunt marches through the forest and reaches the castle entrance, the passage way bristling with Yoma rods.Claymore, Anime Scene 15 Zakol hunt at Witch's Maw 'Wounded warrior' Clare searches for Raki in Hamel, where she finds two children arguing over Teresa and Clare statue at village plaza.Claymore 8, Scene 41, p. 58; Claymore, Anime Scene 15 As Clare talks to the young girl about Raki, a wounded Claymore warrior staggers into town (named "Raquel" in anime—see Raquel II).Claymore 8, Scene 41, p. 61; Claymore, Anime Scene 15 Before dying, she asks Clare to save the Zakol hunt, led by Jean. Clare reveals her true female identity and returns to duty as No. 47.Claymore 8, Scene 41, p. 66; Claymore, Anime Scene 15 'Witch's Maw' Meanwhile inside the castle, Riful has her consort, Dauf, torture and awaken Jean and Katea. Another warrior (original Raquel) already lies dead on the floor. Riful is building an army of awakened beings to fight Isley of the North.Claymore 8, Scene 42, p. 81; Claymore, Anime Scene 15 Riful says Katea is "awakened case No. 30."Claymore 8, Scene 42, p. 96 Outside, Clare enters castle and encounters Dauf. He captures Clare.Claymore 8, Scene 43, pp. 112–113; Claymore, Anime Scene 16 Galatea, who is searching for Clare, appears. Using Yoma Energy Alignment and Control, Galatea causes Dauf to drop Clare. She catches Clare and tries to leave. But Dauf caves-in the entrance. Claymore 8, Scene 44, pp. 134–144; Claymore, Anime Scene 16 Riful appears and couches Dauf on circumventing Galatea's technique. After a protracted combat, Galatea orders Clare to rescue Jean, while Galatea holds off Dauf.Claymore 9, Scene 46, p. 22; Claymore, Anime Scene 16 Clare discovers Jean's awakened butterfly form. But Clare realigns Jean to normal.Claymore 9, Scene 47, p. 40; Claymore, Anime Scene 16 They join Galatea upstairs and combat with Dauf ensues, with Riful still a spectator. After inital failure, Jean nearly beheads him, but Riful stops her.Claymore 9, Scene 49, p. 98; Claymore, Anime Scene 17 'Aftermath' Riful awakens into a Creature of the Abyss—the castle bursts apart and is completely destroyed. But Riful gives back Jean and frees the warriors as a reward for defeating Dauf.Claymore 9, Scene 49, p. 110–111; Claymore, Anime Scene 17 Riful later appears with Renée—and the merged Luciela x Rafaela—in yet another abandoned castle (Witch's Maw II)—this one north of Ticelli.Claymore 15, Scene 82, p. 135 Additional details 'Notes' *An interview with Norihiro Yagi in Jump SQ, August 2010,Jump SQ, August 2010, p. 771 shows in Yagi's library German Castles and Palaces,German Castles and Palaces by Uwe Albrecht, Vendome Press, December 1, 1999 which may have influenced the design of the castle References Tankōbon Claymore volumes cited are VIZ Media (en-us) editions, unless otherwise noted. Manga scenes (chapters) not yet translated cite Shueisha tankōbon (ja) editions. Manga scenes not yet published in tankōbon form cite Jump SQ (ja) editions. Fragments of Silver Omnibus (総集編 銀の断章 Gin no Danshou) 1–3, Shueisha, are only available in Japanese. Anime scenes (episodes) cited are FUNimation (en-us) editions, unless otherwise noted. Category:Browse Category:Places Category:Island Category:Lautrec